Downtown Lombard welcomes butcher, dance shop
What do a butcher shop and a dance apparel store have in common?
They both recently opened in downtown Lombard.
Shannon’s Corner Butcher Shoppe hosted a grand opening Thursday at 15 S. Park Ave., just north of the train station, while Dance It Again had its grand opening last Saturday.
The business openings are generating interest in downtown Lombard among entrepreneurs, said Karen Stonehouse, executive director of Lombard Town Centre, a mainly volunteer organization that promotes downtown.
“You elevate the level of interest and you start filling spaces,” Stonehouse said. “Every space that gets filled gathers some attention.”
Customers filing in and out of Shannon’s on Thursday afternoon sampled chicken salad on crackers and grabbed business cards with the shop’s phone number.
Owner Jennifer Shannon previously ran a similar butcher shop called Clancy’s at the same location, but it closed about a year ago.
She said her biggest challenge will be regaining the patronage of former customers. She smiled at Sam Madonia, a Lombard resident who lives on Park Avenue just a few blocks away from the shop, calling him one of her best customers.
“It’s great for me — I don’t have to freeze any meat,” Madonia said, adding he often stops for steaks or buffalo marinated chicken when he gets off the train.
The shop also offers specialty meats such as hamburger patties with blue cheese or bacon and cheddar and lunch items like prepackaged cobb salads delivered from Shannon’s Irish Pub in Glen Ellyn, which is under the same ownership. Shannon said she plans to open a deli two doors north of the Lombard butcher shop in the next few months.
“Hopefully it’s going to get even more built up down here,” she said.
It’s a hope Stonehouse and Lombard elected officials share. Stonehouse said she is in discussions with a few other business owners interested in downtown Lombard locations for their shops.
For Dance It Again owner Melissa Vega, her shop’s location at 11 N. Main St. is perfect because of two nearby dance studios, including one right upstairs.
Vega described her store as similar to Plato’s Closet, but for dance-related items like shoes, costumes, leotards and ballet skirts. The store only accepts gently used items without stains or tears and sells new apparel as well.
The season for dance recitals is about to end, Vega said, but will pick up again in August. Still, she said early May has been a fine time to open her business.
“We’re hoping to build our inventory right now and during the summer,” Vega said.
Cabinet Depot at 14 W. St. Charles Road is another addition to downtown Lombard’s business landscape. And two businesses teaming up to offer services for weddings, Blend Beauty and Red Wall Photo, should be the next shops to open in the area at 6 S. Park Ave., Stonehouse said.